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Sweeter Than Fiction
"Sweeter Than Fiction" is a song by Taylor Swift for the soundtrack of One Chance. The song was written by Swift along with Jack Antonoff, best known as the guitarist for indie pop band Fun, and was released through Big Machine Records as the lead single from the soundtrack album on October 21, 2013. Background and release One Chance producer Simon Cowell approached Swift, whom he knew through her connection to One Direction member Harry Styles, with the idea of becoming involved with the project. Swift was reportedly "so moved" by the film's concept she was inspired to write a song for it. The song was co-written by Jack Antonoff, who claims "Sweeter Than Fiction" has a John Hughes vibe, and who tweeted he "LOVED working with" Swift. Swift revealed in an interview with country music blog Taste of Country that she viewed the film as a love story in addition to a chronicling of a man's road to success, and approached the songwriting process from that perspective: "I’m very inspired by the concept of love. And this movie is, in a lot of ways, ... a story of the love his wife … has for him," Swift explained. "That was the story that hit me and really affected me. I wanted to tell a story musically from that perspective." The song was released to digital retailers as the lead single from the One Chance soundtrack October 21, 2013. After its release, Swift admitted she had to fight her label to be allowed to release "Sweeter Than Fiction", as she tries to maintain a dormant period between album releases. Big Machine reportedly told Swift "no new music until the next album comes out", but Swift explained that after seeing the film, she insisted "I have to be a part of this." Composition "Sweeter Than Fiction" is a "rock-tinged" bubblegum pop song that also contains influences of synthpop and new wave music. Critics have deemed the song reminiscent of 80's pop. The song is musically and lyrically upbeat, with Swift singing from the point of view of a longtime friend or fan who has always believed in a performer's talents. "There you'll stand, ten feet tall", Swift sings in the chorus, "and I will say, 'I knew it all along.'" Its first four verses are in the key of B major, and the rest of the song is in C# major. It has a tempo of 134 beats per minute and lasts three minutes and fifty-four seconds. Critical reception The song was well-received by critics. Entertainment Weekly praised Swift's approach to the subject matter - "The track ... is uplifting without being hokey and sweet without being cloying." - and described the song as "addictive". Rachel Mcrady of US Weekly felt "Sweeter Than Fiction" possessed "all the makings of another hit" in Swift's career. MTV blogger Jenna Hally Rubenstein summarized "Sweeter" as "a masterfully crafted pop song that should do a killer job of soundtracking any and all uplifting moments in "One Chance."" Carl Williott of Idolator called the song "pretty great", saying "it's a ... sweet song, but the confident synth-pop/New Wave stylings keep it from being an overly saccharine affair, resultingly in a surprisingly bold offering from Swift." Spin editor Larry Busacca gave a more mixed review. Though deriding the song for being "not the least bit groundbreaking", Busacca did admit the song was "too catchy and effortless-sounding to resist." Chart performance "Sweeter Than Fiction" debuted at number thirty-four on Billboard Hot 100, her forty-third top forty hit, thus tying with Aretha Franklin for the second-most top forty entries among women in the chart's history. It also Swift's fourth movie song to crack the top forty, following "Today Was a Fairytale" from Valentine's Day which reached number two in 2010 and two songs from The Hunger Games: "Safe & Sound" with The Civil Wars which reached number thirty in 2012, and "Eyes Open" which reached number nineteen in 2012. On Hot Digital Songs, "Sweeter Than Fiction" entered at number six with 114,000 downloads sold. It is Swift's twenty-eight song to reach the top ten of the said chart, thus tying with Rihanna for the most top ten hits among all acts. Lyrics '1 Hit the ground, hit the ground, hit the ground, oh oh Only sound, only sound that you hear is "no" You never saw it coming Slipped when you started running And now you've come undone and I, I, I, I Seen you fall, seen you crawl on your knees, eh eh Seen you lost in a crowd, seen your colors fade Wish I could make it better Someday you won't remember This pain you thought would last forever and ever 'Chorus And there you'll stand, ten feet tall I will say, I knew it all along Your eyes' wider than distance This life's sweeter than fiction '2 Just a shot, just a shot in the dark, oh oh All you got, all you got are your shattered hopes They never saw it coming You hit the ground running And now you're onto something, I, I, I say What a sight, what a sight when the light came on Proved me right, proved me right when you proved them wrong And in this perfect weather It's like we don't remember The rain we thought would last forever and ever 'Chorus And there you'll stand, ten feet tall I will say, I knew it all along Your eyes' wider than distance This life's sweeter than fiction There you'll stand, next to me All at once, the rest is history Your eyes' wider than distance This life's sweeter than fiction, fiction 'Bridge I'll be one of the many saying, Look at you now, look at you now, now I'll be one of the many saying, You made us proud, you made us proud, proud I'll be one of the many saying, Look at you now, look at you now, now I'll be one of the many saying, You made us proud, you made us proud, proud And when they call your name And they put your picture in a frame You know that I'll be there time and again 'Cause I loved you when, when you 'Chorus Hit the ground, hit the ground, hit the ground, oh oh Only sound, only sound that you heard was "no" Now in this perfect weather It's like we don't remember The rain we thought would last forever and ever (forever) There you'll stand, ten feet tall I will say, I knew it all along Your eyes' wider than distance This life's sweeter than fiction There you'll stand next to me All at once, the rest is history Your eyes' wider than distance This life's sweeter than fiction, fiction '''[Outro It's sweeter than fiction It's sweeter, yeah It's sweeter than, sweeter Sweeter than fiction Trivia Taylor has never fully performed this song live before. She sang it partially in an interview about the movie, but is yet to give us a full live performance. Category:Film soundtracks Category:Songs written by Taylor Swift Category:Songs written by Jack Antonoff